The Little Prince 2 Essay, Research Paper

A French novel named The Little Prince is clearly a classic book that will remain being famous because of the fact that both adults and children can fall in love with the tale in their own ways. I chose the story to read mainly because it was a mere hundred pages, not expecting to actually enjoy reading it. I did not feel awkward reading a children s book, because the way the book affected me was the way most difficult books I read today feel, after completing. After reading this short novel, I could clearly understand why it has become a true classic book in the eyes of today s society. Most bookstores and libraries carry this French novel in their children’s section. The sentences are simple and flow with an easy, poetic grace, and interspersed with the clear text, making this book simple to read and understand. The illustrations are child-like pictures, but yet meticulously detailed. Antoine de Saint Exup ry, a French pilot and author, wrote this book in 1943 with the subject of aviation. The book begins with a child, then skips ahead many years later with the subject maturing through life.

This book is basically about understanding life. The Little Prince lived happily alone on his small planet until the wind planted for him a new seed, from which sprang the loveliest flower he had ever seen. He lavished his love and attention upon the flower, which in turn tormented him with her vanity and her pride, ultimately driving him to abandon his home and venture forth into the galaxy in search of the secret of what is important in life. He learns this secret, finally, from a creature of the Earth, a fox. With his new level of understanding, the Little Prince is at last ready to return home, but not before he passes on his new knowledge to the author – knowledge of the healing power of love which makes all things unique, and how the pain of saying goodbye is worth it if it changes how we look at the world. This profound meaning to the story was written in such simple text, which adds to the many reasons why this book is a classic.

From the outside, it appears to be a simple children’s tale. The Little Prince is actually a profound and deeply moving book written in riddles and laced with philosophy and poetic metaphors. This allows children and their parents to sit together and read this small novel and both feel a connection towards it. This quality makes The Little Prince a unique book that it is enjoyable to read.

This book seems like an autobiography from the author, adding to maybe why this novel was so well written and had so much meaning to it. The author, who is also a pilot, begins the story with an anecdote describing how, as a child, he was urged by sensible adults to put down his paints and colored pencils that he might concentrate on matters of consequence. There were also other points in the book when the author was actually describing his child-hood. Therefore, Antoine de Saint Exup ry s twisted view of his childhood actually makes the story more insightful and more successful.

This novel, is one of the few books that I can recommend to my little sister and my mother at the same time. A child s imagination and an adults education in understanding things, allow the two different age groups to comprehend the story in their own ways.